Outdoor play

Outdoor play is crucial to children's development. It's summer here in the southern hemisphere.  I like to let children spend as much time as they like outside: getting children out for the fresh air; and letting them get their hands dirty and feet wet. Outdoor play is beneficial to children not just for good health and well-being...

Play in the outdoors could be active or quiet. Whereas some children jump, climb, run and chase, the others may choose to look, listen, touch and smell, that is using their senses.  Young children learn when they are physically involved.

Will they miss out on "inside activities" such as reading and painting? No way. The teacher may simply bring the "inside activities" out, such as set up the painting easels outside, and throw a few cushions on a picnic rugs with storybooks, puzzles, construction blocks, etc. My colleagues even relocated the dramatic play furniture outside, as the interest in playing cafe is emerging.

To be outside means to be fit. Outside play helps children develop better motor skills and coordination, and they become more confident in their physical abilities. Also, they learn to assess risks and develop the confidence to take reasonable risks. As they learn about themselves, their strengths and capabilities, they learn about the nature too.

The natural world is an essential part of life. Nature offers rich opportunities for exploring and making discoveries. With better understanding of the natural world, the children will grow up as responsible citizens who care for their environment.

Yes, its important to let children play outside. And rain or shine? click this link about a kindergarten who provides raincoats to children to take full advantage of its outdoor programme.

Clay in the early years art programme

Clay gives young children opportunities to develop a set of valuable visual art skills. Also, it connects children to a natural resource that has been used by people around the world for thousands of years for art creation. This unique art medium reflects our respect for the nature. Clay is able to be reused and clay works can be recycled, which is an important benefit of using clay in the early childhood art programme. Using clay promotes greater awareness of environmental issues and sustainability.

The simplest of physical actions: squeezing, patting, poking, rolling, coiling, or piling it up - produces an immediate and satisfying change to the shape and form of a piece of clay. While the children are exploring the possibilities of clay as a medium of artistic expression, they are learning how clay behave and how they can use it to make their idea visible. It involves problem solving.

Younger children, particularly, seem to enjoy using clay and are delighted in its sensory and tactile qualities. They are quite bold in tackling wet and damp clay. While younger children tend to create abstract works, the older ones aim to be representational in their creation.

The teacher may want to bring out clay regularly. With practice, children will develop more sophisticated skills and be able to add complexity to their creations. Just give plenty of time for children to figure things out by themselves.

While it's important to let children explore and make discoveries, teachers' support is important too. Click this link for more.

How children learn in the early years

I believe children make their own discoveries; and learning comes from within. With natural curiosity, the child is intrinsically motivated to learn , to explore and to experiment. Everyday, children are making an effort to make sense of the world. At the same time, children's learning is also influenced by external forces in the environment. The child develops not in isolation, but through interaction with other people in his social world. So, as teachers of young children, we have an influence in the child's learning and development. However, trying to directly teach children things is not helpful. The child needs the opportunity to construct and to discover the knowledge on his own. The teacher's role is to support the child by stimulating and challenging the child's own thinking. The teacher cannot prescribe the manner in which the child learns, but she can design a programme that supports the child's learning in a progressive manner. But this doesn't mean the child will develop according to the teacher's plan, as development has its own rhythm. Still, teachers' involvement is necessary. With it, the child's mind be able to advance far.

Recalling the experience of working with clay with the young children, regular opportunities proved to be very beneficial for them to develop their technical skills and knowledge about the properties of this unique medium. Initially, I simply put some clay balls on the table with a wet sponge in the middle of the table. They started to play
with the clay... I can imagine what was going on in their mind included: what can I do with clay? Can I change the shape? How? What happens when I pinch, poke, squeeze, or roll the clay? What if I squeeze water out of the sponge and moisten the clay? How will the clay behave when wet?

As time went by, their emerging skills were adding complexity to their creations. Some children started to construct objects that have different parts , and joined them.  The children began with a body and added legs, head and so on. It was hard to join various parts securely though.

I demonstrated to them how to begin with a single lump and then split and squeeze the parts from it. With lots of practice, the children are now able to use clay to make their imaginings to take shape and form. My demonstration and coaching has helped the children to master the skills that they can't immediately grasp on their own.

Handling unacceptable behaviours of young children

Hitting is an unacceptable behaviour. But the fact is it does happen among young children.

Earlier today, I was asked what would I do if a parent said his child was hit by another child in the kindergarten. I replied that I would promise the parent to investigate and treat the matter seriously. I would also reassure her that hitting is totally unacceptable in the kindergarten. And then, I would discuss with my colleagues to find out more. Reflecting on it now, I think I have shortchanged my friend, who probably would like a proper analysis of the scenario. I once worked for a home based early education and care provider and often had similar questions referred to me. Let me answer this question again:

The incident involves the child who was hit, his mother, the child who hit, the teaching team, and all the other children.

First and foremost, everyone needs to feel safe and secured in the kindergarten. The child has a right to be safe, especially one can learn only when he feels safe. The child who was hit didn't tell a teacher. Why? Did he not trust the teacher? Was there no teacher nearby?If no teacher has witnessed the incident, the team needs to step up their supervision. Are there any blind spots around the kindergarten?

The incident of hitting could be more complicated than it seemed. The child might be provoked, which doesn't give him the license to hit back, of course. But then, it might become a learning opportunity for emotional management. The child needs to learn to stand up for himself in non aggressive way. The teacher needs to talk gently with both children to get a clearer picture of the incident.

What about other children in the kindergarten? Was anyone around at that time? No one came forward to tell a teacher? No matter how vigilant and alert the teachers are, they might not see everything. It is a fact that we must accept it. The teacher could be busy working with some other children who demanded her full attention.  Again, the incident calls for some teaching/learning activities about behaviour management. At mat-times, perhaps, a discussion about what constitute unacceptable behaviors? The 4 year olds might be mature enough to draft up a good behaviours contract that could be signed by all of them afterwards. Also, brainstorm what to do when confronted by aggressive behaviours. If the children are younger, give specific instructions about what to do, such as saying, "stop it. I don't like it!" And then, go and find a teacher. The whole group can practice together to say, "No, hitting is not acceptable!" I always advise the children that they are allowed to use a big voice to say NO! in such situation.

Parents are our close ally in supporting the growth and development of young children. They all need to know how we manage behaviours of children in our care. Take the initiative to discuss behaviour issue in newsletters; and seek their feedback. To the mother whose child was hit, explain what actions you're going to take or have taken; inform her about the progress of the investigation; reassure her that hitting is a serious matter; and keep the dialogue and any other two way communication open.

Sufficient? Appropriate? What do you think?

Assessment in early childhood education - including the child's voice

Teachers of young children all spend a lot of time, very often their own time, to write up children's assessment. Assessment gives useful information about children's learning and development. As it captures children's learning experiences in the kindergarten, parents will therefore become much more aware and convinced of the learning achieved by their child. As such, communication between teachers and parents are enhanced.

Reliable assessment should include multiple voices. Instead of telling the learning story from her own perspective, the teacher also needs to give the child involved an opportunity to tell his story. A learning experience is best interpreted and assessed by the learner himself, which allows the child to take over some responsibility and claim ownership of his learning. In practice, find time to talk with the learner about his experience (photos will provide cues for a thoughtful conversation): let the child indicate what he is learning, thus drawing out the meaning of the experience. When the teacher and the learner "co-author" a learning story, the assessment is authentic, and the process is exciting and energising.

 I like this concept of "co-authoring" with the child, if possible, while making observation, otherwise make time for discussion afterwards. Let the learner talk about whatever comes to his mind. This assessment practice also provides an opportunity to learn. Together, the teacher and the child look at or look back over a learning episode, the child is encouraged to use his language to recall, explain and express his ideas, feelings and thoughts. The sustained shared interactions and dialogue strengthen relationships with the child, who will feel empowered as a learner.

Even though co-authoring is not able to happen, due to whatever reasons, it's always helpful to encourage children to read their assessment any time. Make sure the assessment folders are easily accessible, and make a space for children reading together with peers, families and teachers.

Take this episode of marble painting, for an example. First, the teacher will consciously highlight the positive learning dispositions, such as practicing, experimenting, thinking. And then, probably, the creative and artistic development of the child will be assessed, drawing attention to her understanding of colours, skills in creating marks and patterns etc. The assessment may focus on the child as an artist. However, talking with the child may reveal her fascination with the rolling marbles and her perseverance with mastering the skill to carry the marble from the palette to the box! Through "co-authoring" or self-assessment, the learner's interest, knowledge, skills and dispositions will be recognised. These information will be helpful to establish the learner's identity.

Literacy in early childhood - alphabet knowledge

Early childhood teachers play an important role in supporting children's literacy. But, what types of literacy experiences are appropriate in the early years? The common response probably is children need to learn ABCs, as alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness are key predictors of literacy achievement later in school, in terms of spelling and reading.

Children who attend primary school with insufficient knowledge of letter names and letter sounds tend to struggle with reading, and they are likely to fall behind in spelling, reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension skills.

Alphabet knowledge means knowledge about letter names, letter sounds and letters in print. With these knowledge, young children are able to make attempts at spelling and reading. Researchers Piasta and Wagner found out that Alphabet knowledge can be strengthened through intentional teaching strategies.

Te Whaariki, New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum and Australia's Early years Learning Framework both advocate for a holistic programme. Yes, alphabet knowledge is best taught in a variety of ways within a holistic curriculum. Teaching literacy knowledge too formal and too soon may take away the pleasure of learning from young children.

There are plenty of games with a focus on alphabet knowledge. My friend has a set of bean bags with letters embroidered on them. She gives each child one, and ask them to say the letter name, letter sound, and to think of a word that begins with the particular letter. And then, they play balancing game with the bean bag, which concludes the learning session with giggles and laughters. The learning encompasses cognitive, emotional, social and physical aspects.

Other effective activities or routines could include: children to sign up on arrival at kindergarten; put own name tags on their locker on arrival; dictate names onto artwork; sing alphabet song while pointing to alphabet chart; when organising children off the mat orderly, use a letter card to send off children with names starting with the same letter; use magnetic letters to make words, and so on. You could add to the list...

Click this link for the research paper published by Piasta and Wagner.

P.S. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) recognizes development of the alphabetic principle as a goal for the preschool years and proficiency in letter discrimination, letter naming, and letter–sound correspondences are expected during the kindergarten year. 

Literacy in the Early Years - Teachers' Role

Regarding the role of teachers in supporting early literacy, I pay tribute to Margaret Carr's concept of learning dispositions, which mean that learners are being able, ready and willing to learn. So, in the context of literacy, it is about getting the young learner ready and willing to write, as well as knowing how to write.

Look at this scenario:
We baked at the kindergarten, Nina, who is gluten intolerant, was keen to confirm that she would be allowed to eat the cake we made. Despite the reassurance that we had checked all the ingredients, Nina insisted to call her Mum, just to be sure. As we said only the teachers were allowed to use the phone, she wrote down her question for the teacher to read to her Mum. Nina asked me to spell out the words, and she referred to the alphabet chart when writing. What an amazing writer! Not only does she has literacy skills and knowledge, she was also able to recognize the occasion to apply her skills; and she was willing to do it even the task involved lots of effort.

 To support literacy in the early years, I believe, teachers need to maintain a dual focus on the literacy skills and the learning dispositions. I have introduced McLachlan's work on teaching literacy skills to young children in an earlier post from my children's songs, rhymes and game blog , now I'm going to focus on dispositions in this post.

When a child has learned a literacy skill, for example, how to identify ABCs, he is able to do something he couldn't do before. But he may not be spontaneously make use of that ability when a relevant situation arises, if he doesn't realize its relevance. Try to ask a child who knows the alphabet to read out the letters of words from a book, he may say he doesn't know how.  It is not much about being able, he is not ready to make use of the ability he possesses. Also, he may still need a degree of support and encouragement, which involves his desire to try when there is a certain degree of difficulty. It's about being willing.

To support a disposition to write, the teacher needs to model purposeful literacy.  At kindergarten, teachers who jot down notes about children's voice/ ideas and learning episodes are providing role models for emergent writers. Children observe when teachers write. The teachers are modeling an interest in writing, in particular, when they are keen to talk about and share what they have noted down, they are modeling a passion for expressing and recording ideas, feelings and thoughts in print/ written language.

Guy Claxton writes in 2009, in a forward to the book entitled Learning Power Heroes from the Building Learning Power programme in England, that teachers are learning heroes. He suggests that children learn in the way their parents, carers and teachers learn. So, if they are around people who love to write,  they will pick up the habits and rules of writing, as well as develop a passion for writing. This is especially true with teachers, as they are important people/ heroes to young learners in the kindergarten.

In short, early childhood teachers must support young children to develop not only literacy skills but also positive dispositions to use the skill willingly when the situation is relevant.

Managing unacceptable behaviour in the early years

Managing unacceptable behaviour should begin with thoughtful planning of the environment and routines. Ideally, the environments should engage and nurture young learners, so they will be deeply involved in constructing knowledge and making discovery. Moreover, the environments need to be carefully arranged in order to minimize confrontation and conflict. Bearing in mind that young children are learning to take responsibility for their own actions, so the environments also need to respond to their developmental level. 

During my work with children, I am often struck by behaviour management issues that could simply be solved by implementing a few changes in the environments.

Yesterday, when I worked with a 3- year-olds' group, a teacher was setting up water play outside, with four ice-cream containers of coloured water. The activity was meant to be an extension of a previous interest in colour mixing. As there were only four smocks available, the teacher said only four children were allowed to play. To make her point clear, she counted the smocks and the four children who had successfully reached out for the water containers. After a short while, some children gathered around, demanding their turns, and a few tried to jostle their way in front of the water containers. The teacher told the onlookers, "1,2,3,4. That's it. Don't stand around here, you're wasting your time. Go find something else to do!" From then on, the teacher's role was to police the children, ensuring everyone behaved nicely and had a turn, and she was unable to write down any notes about children's comments or discovery about the properties of colours. 

Although the number of smocks and containers suggest only four children are allowed,  it can limit the possibilities for richer experiences of collaboration and learning. Also, we don't generally expect 3-year-olds are able to wait for a long time for their turn. Manageable expectations and limits should be set, in the first place.In this scenario, crowding and queueing are causes of frustration and conflict for young children. Appropriate changes could be made to achieve a positive impact on the children's level of involvement in the activity and their interactions with each other. 

More containers should be available for the activity. The containers do not need to be the same, and the size does not matter. Better still, just put out a few jugs of coloured water and let children mix the colours up in their individual cup or bowl. True, we don't want children to get wet, so the teacher need to remind the children to be careful, such as pulling up their sleeves and getting changed when wet. Young children need to learn to look after themselves. 

The smocks should not be a barrier to meaningful learning, unless it was freezing cold in winter, then the teacher might need to plan differently. Instead of letting children to construct knowledge from physical involvement, the teacher could demonstrate colour mixing while children observe and develop their working theories, in the cold winter months.

Also, young children should be gently encouraged to accept the reality that they need to wait for a turn. The teacher might need to talk about what other activities are on offer, apart from the amazing water play. Be specific, for example, prompt children to go to the art easel where they can find the colours of the rainbow. Simply say, "go find something else to do" is not clear enough for the  younger ones.

When planning activities  and equipments/ playthings, the teacher needs to take into consideration the children's developmental stage and adjust expectations accordingly. Ask yourself these questions: To what extent is sharing important, or should there be enough playthings to prevent conflict? What are realistic expectations about children's abilities to cooperate, take turns, or wait for assistance?

Managing behaviour in the early years

Effective behaviour management in the early years involves learning. Unacceptable behaviour should be dealt with to ensure that children are not demeaned or their self esteem is damaged. Te Whaariki, the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, outlines the ways in which behaviour management could be empowering: the children will know the limits and boundaries of acceptable behaviour; and will understand the consequences of stepping beyond the limits of acceptable behaviour. Behaviour management strategies are not only meant for preventing unacceptable behaviour but also for developing ideas of fairness and new social skills.

Today, I visited a long day care centre and stayed in the room for three year olds. I realized how easily young children become tired, especially after being stuck inside for a long period of time due to bad weather. At the young age, their self control may still be unreliable. I think it's the teacher's responsibility to observe and respond to signals of tiredness. When there are issues of unacceptable behaviour, the young children need to be handled in a calm and caring way.

After lunch, one teacher brought children out to have a little play, while other teachers set up the sleeping area.  Some children started doing forward roll on the wet ground and more children joined in. The teacher asked them to stop and warned them that they would get wet and sick. And then, she threatened to bring the children inside to sleep if they did not take notice of her instruction. A few children did not listen and kept doing forward roll on the ground with small puddles. In the end, she scooped one child inside, while the child yelled in protest. And then, another child was taken inside the same way. Despite that, two children continued to roll on the ground, regardless of the consequence. To me, it's seem they were unable to stop themselves, rather than blatantly disregarded the teacher. They probably were very tired, so ready to have a lying down.  I just said No to them clearly and distracted them by saying not on a cloudy day without the sun. They naturally checked out the sky, and I reinforced that they would be allowed to do it on a sunny day. On that moment, I invited them to go on the jungle gym. Distraction and provision of alternatives could be more efficient than punishment at this young age.

The same strategy applied later.  After nap, a child who has woken up for a long while pushed a child who just woke up several time, probably trying to get him into playing together. They started to pushed each other roughly. The teacher said, "no fighting, otherwise you will go to the office!" Though children need to learn the consequence of their unacceptable behaviour, but not in this way. Logically, getting hurt is a possible consequence of fighting that children need to be aware of , as the learning outcome is to understand how to look after their own well being and to keep themselves from harm. It's different from avoiding the punishment of being sent to the office.

 I thought those children were unable to decide what to do when they just woke up. They simply need to know there is another option. So, I asked them whether they want to do a painting. One child immediately followed me to the art table. And the other child said, "me too!" I think the teacher could bear this in mind in future planning about respect for rules. For sure, the children need to understand the rule about harming others and an understanding of the reasons for it.

Children develop a sense of self worth when their emotional well being is nurtured. Teachers of young children could give genuine opportunities to make choices and to develop independence. Also, its the teacher's' responsibility to help young children to understand and accept necessary limits, without anxiety or fear.

Click here for positive parenting resources developed by S.K.I.P. of New Zealand. The ideas and concepts are relevant to early childhood teachers as well.

Teaching Habits of Mind

Habits Of Mind have been used by me in assessing young children in my kindy. In the early years, learning should be focused on the development of learning dispositions and strategies, rather than simply building up academic knowledge and skills. Although preschoolers need to be prepared for school, there are issues of teaching young children too formal and too early, as suggested by Guy Claxton. The children are at risk of becoming unmotivated if they are given formal education too early when they are not ready.

Well, back to the habits of mind. Teachers should actively promote them through early childhood curriculum. I know a kindy in New Zealand have completed a project on incorporating habits of mind in their program. Talk about that in detail later.

Documenting children's learning

I believe teachers need to document children's learning, making learning visible. So, what do I document, how and why?

For individual children's learning journey, I use the Learning Story model developed by the legendary Margaret Carr of New Zealand. My intention is to share with parents about what the child is interested in. I describe what I saw and what the child said. Based on that, I plan for how to support the child's learning so the interest will be extended and the learning becomes more complex.

Basically, I describe what I notice as the child's interest, how he is involved in pursuing his interest, how he communicates his passion, whether he persists despite difficulties, and how he takes up his responsibility for his own learning. And then I analyse what learning I think is happening and outline my planning about what could be the next step of development for the child. Finally, I seek parents' feedback by posing questions to solicit their comments.

To document the learning that is happening for groups of children, I use the model of Stories of interest/Planning stories. These Stories of Interest include documentation about how a particular interest has begun, what learning is happening, teachers' intentions/reflections on possible ways to extend the interest, and parent/family comments. The Planning Story model shows how the learning is unfolded as the stories are displayed as work in progress.  While teachers' planning and possibilities are outlined,  they are not something that is fixed in concrete. It's because the teacher, I believe, is obliged to follow the childrenʼs interests, to be spontaneous and responsive.

I think, both children and teachers need to work together in creating rich learning  experiences, and the parents can also contribute towards the planning of what learning will happen. So, the purpose of the documentation is to show the learning journey of the children, as supported by the teachers and parents. I think itʼs a good idea to use lots of photos, which enables children to revisit their experiences. If possible, documentation should be displayed at childrenʼs height. Also think about how much writing to put up on the wall, parents are unlikely to stand around reading lengthy paragraphs. Make the text short and sweet, perhaps using bullet points.

It's inevitable that only a small percentage of the learning/teaching that is happening is documented due to the constraints of time. However, the documentation will serve as the tip of the iceberg, showcasing the richness of children's learning and the wide array of opportunities to learn in the early childhood setting. I hope you will embrace your obligation to document children's learning as well.

P.S. the Learning Story model is also used at schools in New Zealand too, click here for additional information.

Parents as partners in the early years

Good teaching practice in the early years is guided by partnership with families, as advocated by the early childhood curricula of New Zealand and Australia specifically. Yes, families should be part of their children's learning and development. I always try to include them in the assessment and evaluation process, as they have a wealth of information and understandings regarding their child. In terms of planning, when I recognise some interests are emerging, I will solicit parental inputs into the topics of investigation or interest.

First and foremost, all aspects of the kindergarten environment should be designed to encourage parent participation in the programme.  The environment needs to be welcoming. Think about furniture...are there chairs and tables which are at adult heights? They should feel comfortable to hang around a bit. It's an attitude of respect for the parents. In my kindy, parents are often seen sitting on a couch, reading a book with their child or enjoying their child's folder/ portfolio.

Communication is definitely critical for effective partnership. The drop off and pick up times provide opportunities for the teacher to talk with the parent about their child's interests; sharing information about what the child enjoys doing while he is not at kindergarten etc..

In addition, observations and records should be part of two-way communication that strengthens the partnership between the early childhood setting and families. While the teacher is trying to learn about each child to plan for the teaching programme, parents need to be aware of the teaching that goes on in the kindergarten.

In my centre, there are plenty of documentation on the walls to communicate with parents about the children's experiences. Documentation may include photos of children learning, samples of children's work/ creation, and text describing some aspect of what the children are doing.  In addition, the documentation boards should explain the teacher's planning, which will facilitate dialogue and exchange of ideas with parents. Ideally, the teacher will have time to update a daily journal, in which the teachers will communicate to parents how the children spend time during the day, areas where children spent most of the time, and some text reflecting on what children said they were thinking about specific topics. In partnership with parents, teachers will be better informed when they try to make sense of the topics of emergent interest.

It certainly is very demanding to update a daily journal everyday at the end of the session. I usually do it first thing after a session and put it out before the next session. It will help children revisit what they have done in the previous session, while the parents are informed of the current learning happening at kindy. Instead of a daily journal, I am aware that one kindy takes advantage of ICT and creates a daily slideshow for parents with photos of children working and learning in the day. At pick up time, parents are welcomed to watch the show with the children, while teachers are on the side making comments, sharing ideas, and answering questions.

Both parents and teachers are the contributors to the child's capacity to learn. In the learning story I write for each child, I will reserve some space to seek parents' feedback. I will use
prompting questions to encourage them to write something in return. For example, "Have your child told you about this?" or "Does your child like to do drawing at home too?" or " Your child seems to have a lot of knowledge about ....Do you know where he learns that from?"

Finally, parents are valuable resource persons with many talents. I have invited parents coming to kindergarten to cook and bake with children; demonstrating the Japanese craft of origami; running show and tell sessions about their profession; leading music and movement activities; and even constructing a cockpit for the children.

Hope you enjoy working with the parents at your kindergarten too!

Group size contributes to quality outcomes in early childhood education

It has been shown that group size influences the nature of the interactions between children and their teacher in the early childhood setting, which makes teaching and learning possible. 

In my previous two posts, I talked about a video called supporting early writers, in which a teacher was attempting to support a group of young writers by jotting down their ideas one after one, demonstrating how verbal language can be recorded in print. She probably understood that adult guided learning required one to one attention, so she worked with the children one at a time, while letting the other children queueing up for their turn. However, she looked flustered when children in the queue demanded attention. As a result, she seemed unable to focus on the learning activity, as she hardly gave the children eye contact, nor talked responsively with the children.  I think the issue here is the size of her writing group.

The appropriate size for a group will differ across the range of learning activities. Generally, for adult guided learning, the group should better be small. When I cook or bake with children, and I intend them to read the recipe with me, learn to measure with proper equipments, talk about and make connections with any possible home cooking experiences, so I will only work with not more than five children. I either carry out the activity at the kitchen bench or set it up at a small table and put only four chairs out. Group size can be shaped by the physical environment. 

However, when I write with children, such as writing a story down while the child narrates it, I will definitely work with one at a time. I have learnt to say "not now" to enthusiastic writers who wait eagerly on the side. I usually ask them to go and do something else and promise them I will go and find them as soon as I can. Another option could be putting their names down on a waiting list, and I'll ask a child to find the next one when I've finished with the current one. 

A teacher must keep thinking how many children should be grouped together to enable her interaction with the children are effective and responsive. As such, the teacher is able to spend more time teaching and less time managing children. It needs planning about group size, in order to create the physical and social environments that support quality learning and teaching.

Group size contributes to quality outcomes, because it can determine the level and quality of interactions and relationships between children and between children and adults. Effectively, a desirable group size can transform the group into a genuine “learning community”, with the benefit of of fostering and supporting the development of each child as an individual. 

When groups are appropriately sized, teachers can offer more individualised attention. The teachers are able to make more stimulating comments and ask thought provoking questions; and to respond readily with interest and enthusiasm. At the same time, the children are genuinely listened to and supported to express themselves. The teacher and the children are engaged in meaningful conversation, which enhances learning. 

Click here to read about group size being a quality indicator; and here about the effects of group size on children in relation to the various domains within which the individual child develops physically, cognitively, socially, emotionally, and culturally.

Literacy in early childhood - adult guided learning?

Intentional teachers should plan adult-guided learning activities to enable children to learn systems of knowledge, which they can't develop on their own, as suggested by Epstein. In a video titled "supporting early writers", posted by the National Quality Standard Professional Learning Program of Australia, a teacher carried out a guided activity to support children's learning in writing letters of the alphabet. In the video, she diligently wrote down what a child said, put the paper aside and moved on to the next child. She looked stressed as several children were queuing up for their turn.

I think the teacher's planning is informed by the notion of literacy as social practice. She  could be demonstrating how to put words into print. However, she could have stated the obvious, talking with the children about what we say can be written down in words, so everyone can read it, and the message is recorded and will last for a long time. So, if Mum and Dad read the writing, they will know what happen in the kindergarten and so on. As such, the activity will be more meaningful. Writing a letter, a card, a story or a sign is meaningful.

Also, the teacher could have supported the learning of literacy skills and knowledge by describing how to form the letters, for instance, letter "t" is a tall stick and a little line across. When spelling a word, the teacher could model the way to sound the word out or invite the child to try. Depending on the capabilities of the child, the teacher could encourage the child to listen for the beginning sound of a word. Of course, don't overdo it. I've made a silly mistake by asking a child to work out how to spell ninja, after we have done a few words. He walked away leaving this comment: "you figure it out yourself, you are a teacher!"

The key to adult guided learning is responsive and reciprocal relationship, as the teacher applies her knowledge of the child to engage and involve him in his learning. The teacher should listen to and talk with the child patiently, slowing down and affirming the child that his idea is so important that it worths to be written down. After writing, read it back to the child to confirm what he wants to say is correctly recorded. True, time could be a hurdle, but learning activities should not be designed as an one off experience. If it is impossible to cover everyone on this occasion, find another time and do it again.

Most importantly, the child should not feel the need to please the teacher by doing what is told. The child is central to all types of learning, adult-guided or child-initiated. The teacher could have acknowledged the funds of knowledge which the child already have, by asking the child whether he would like to write or let the teacher write for him. The child's attempt should be encouraged while the teacher provides the technical support, ranging from how a particular letter looks like to how to spell a word. The teacher in the video wrote down what a child said and moved on as quickly as possible, which only reinforces the child's dependency and becomes inclined to turn to the teacher for help.

Lastly, I feel for the teacher in the video, as it seems she was responsible for a big group at the time. Just hope the management will step up and contribute a better learning environment for the children and an effective teaching condition for the teacher.

Literacy in early childhood

About supporting early writers , the recent Australia National Quality Standard newsletter uploaded a video for educators to ponder about. Comments seem to be critical. Here I share some learning stories relating to children at various stages of literacy capabilities, and they are all 4 years old.

Mya decided to WRITE her story today. She emphasized that she was not going to dictate her story for me to jot down, as we did before. Instead, she would write the words while I spelt them out for her. Mya was definitely confident of her emerging ability and knowledge of letters of the alphabet.

So, Mya narrated her story sentence by sentence, and I broke the sentence down into words and spelt out each word slowly. Mya had visual image of some letters, and she was able to write them independently when I named the letters. She mostly used the capital letters, but she was gradually learning the lower case of some letters. For those letters she did not know, I wrote them down on a piece of paper and Mya copied. It was amazing to see Mya writing diligently letter by letter. During her story writing, Mya was interrupted by lunch. But she remembered to return to her writing task afterwards.  Mya was definitely taking responsibility for her own learning.

What learning was happening here?

Mya was learning to write by being involved. She has been creating stories lately, so writing a story was a meaningful activity for Mya to practice her literacy skills. On her own initiative, Mya decided to challenge herself to write. She was really motivated to learn and demonstrated confidence and enthusiasm. Mya told me she wrote at home on a notebook. I can see the literacy link between home and kindergarten. I would like to thank Mya’s family for being very supportive of her literacy development.

Sam asked me to help her write up a list. I know she is able to write all letters, so I decided to jot down what she wanted to write and let her copy. She was happy with the idea, and she organised a set of pen and paper for me and another for herself.

The first thing on her list was chocolate. I wrote them in small letters, but when Sam copied them off, she converted them into the capital letter. Interesting! Sam has knowledge of both the upper and lower cases of the letters of the alphabet, and she feels more comfortable to use the upper case.

The next item on her list was computer games. I tried to demonstrate the thinking process behind hearing the sounds in word, so I said the word slowly, ‘com-pu-ter’. Sam was learning to hear the consonants of the word, and she made an informed guess that the word had a ‘p’ in the middle and that it sounded like there were an ‘e’ . It’s a joy to watch Sam grow in her early writing efforts.

Recently, children at the kindergarten have been buzzing around with enthusiasm, producing puppet shows.  Grace was keen to stage her own show.

First, she dictated the story for me to write down. Grace developed a simple but interesting plot for her show, sharing her fantasy and imagination. Grace also wanted to make sure that she would not lose her story, so she punched a hole in the paper and threaded a piece of string through it and hung the paper round her neck. What a unique idea!

Next, Grace drew the characters, including Rapunzel (the princess), the baby Rapunzel, the queen and the prince. Grace needed help to cut out the puppets and she asked her friend, Mya to cut them out for her. The last step was laminating the puppets so Grace could keep them for a long time. But then, it was lunch time. Grace was so eager to complete the preparation that she suggested working through lunch. I said ‘no’ and she quickly finished her lunch and came back to her work.

As we have been using mat-times for the children to showcase their talents, Grace was all smiles when the bell rang for mat-time. During mat-time, while I narrated the story, Grace and her friends held the puppets and acted out the story. We all had a good time, including those who were performing and who were watching.

I am so amazed that the show/story telling project has been achieving so much learning for grace. It’s about creative expression and literacy development (both verbal and written language). Also, the experiences support the disposition of perseverance and a sense of responsibility.  The teachers are impressed that grace took ownership of her show and her contribution was valued.

Ava and Manaia wanted to put up a show and wanted to make a sign to advertise their show. Manaia chose a long strip of paper to be the sign. She intended to inform everyone at the kindergarten about the event.  She asked me to write down the name of the show for them and planned to decorate the banner by herself and with Ava. They drew the octopus and the mermaid, but they did not feel confident to draw the dragon.  Manaia knew that Eden was good at drawing dragons, so she persuaded her to draw a dragon on the banner. When the banner was ready, Manaia suggested using the cellotape to secure the banner and even fetched me a chair to stand on when I hung up the banner high above, so ‘everyone can see it’, as suggested by Manaia.

Mya and Sam are ready for independent writing, and they know messages and ideas can be represented in print. To respect Mya's determination to write all by herself, so I focus on practising letter writing, whereas I extend Sam's knowledge and skills in sounding out the words, i.e. letter-sound relationship. Grace is not ready to write letters and I promote her interest in emergent literacy by modelling writing. I wrote while she narrated a script, which was performed in front of the whole kindergarten. Ava and Mania's story shows that writing sign to inform is a valid way to promote awareness of print.